This Week in Magic - Week 21

26 May
by Jeremy Lichtenberger

There was a TON of Magic played last week. We had a ton of Standard in GP Montreal, GP Santiago, and the Magic Online Championship. We also got to see one of the coolest formats in SCG Louisville, team constructed featuring Standard, Modern AND Legacy. It's notable that this was the first major Legacy even post bans. Let's see how much market action was affected by the various tournament results.

Harbinger of Night

Hey, look at that! Another -1/-1 card spiked this week. Harbinger of Night is one most people forgot about, but it definitely is in the spotlight now. It's far from an efficient -1/-1 giving creature, but it is indiscriminate. Heck, it will even end itself in three turns, provided you don't pump it or remove the counters. I've started to see -1/-1 counter themed Commander decks, and with all these cards spiking, I can't imagine that now is the best time to build one. Maybe wait a bit until all this hype settles down.

Winds of Change

Winds of Change are a commin’! Well, the Legends version is. A somewhat underplayed card, Winds of Change tends to find a home in decks that punish card draw, like Nekusar, the Mindrazer and combo decks that need as many looks at cards as they can get. Lately many older cards have been getting bought up, and I’m not sure how much of it is the usual, unpredictable market, or some kind of speculation regarding future sets. Iconic Masters is still top secret, so we will have to wait and see what exactly is going on here.

Aladdin's Ring

Aladdin's Ring has been printed into oblivion, but the Arabian Night’s printing saw a healthy gain this week. The border is sweet, the mana cost is ridiculous and the art is…unique. There was a time when the effect was actually quite powerful, but paying 16 mana to Flame Slash or cast one part of Boros Charm seems pretty bad by comparison. That being said, it’s an iconic piece of Magic history and a very cool card to see in person.

Enchantress's Presence

Enchantments are making a showing this week with Enchantress's Presence leading the charge. A long time mainstay in any type of enchantress type deck, Enchantress's Presence is a more difficult to remove than a creature and provides a powerful effect for the decks. The art is very reminiscent of something you would see in Morningtide or Lorwyn.

Black Sun's Zenith

Black Sun's Zenith is one of the most fun -1/-1 counter cards to play. It has seen play in various Commander decks as an indiscriminate way to handle basically everything that moves. Now that we are in the age of -1/-1 counters, all of the suns are black. Besides, any card that shuffles into your library after you cast it is perfectly fine by me!

Foils of the Week!

Throne of Geth is a really neat card, and an expensive foil now. Foil Vizier of Remedies is already starting to get picked up as more and more people move into the combo. Foil Deflecting Palm decided to make moves this week. It sees play in Modern as a sideboard card for burn. Merfolk players rejoice! Foil Silvergill Adept has shot through the roof this week. Finally, surprise, surprise, foil Devoted Druid has basically doubled in price.

Cheap pickups of the Week!

It may be too late to mention this, but spoilers have hit the scene for Commander 2017, and man have we got some Dragons!! I’m willing to be everything dragon related will be getting swooped up on in the next few days, so hopefully cards aren’t too expensive by time you read this. Here are a few cheap examples of cards to get for a dragon deck: Wild Pair, Dragonlord's Servant, Dragonspeaker Shaman, Crux of Fate, Dragon Tempest, Bladewing the Risen and of course Haven of the Spirit Dragon

MTGStocks Mystery chart of the Week!

Last week, I gave no clues and only left you with the chart for Eye of Ugin. People familiar with the spike quickly picked up on it. This week, I will do the same and leave you with just a chart, however you should pay close attention to when the spike happened.

MTGStocks Mystery Chart of the week

Conversation of the Week

Commander 2017 spoilers have started. With some key words like Eminence being revealed, Wizards is firmly pushing tribes to 11. It’s fantastic to see characters like O-Kagachi finally make it to a card. Sometimes characters are too powerful to actually become a card, like Urza or Yagmowth, so it makes me happy when we get to revisit old lore. I think Wizards should do that more often, as having to wait to actually see the power level on a card is fun. Unless it’s Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist. He made me sad.

The best Commander card you’re not playing!

Well, in honor of Dragons, my favorite tribe next to Eldrazi, the best card you’re not playing this week is Wild Pair. While this card can be good in other decks, it’s an absolute beat down in a dragon deck. It counts total power/toughness, so 4/4, 5/5 and 6/6 are all gas. Cast a Dragon Broodmother to tutor up your Bladewing the Risen and bring back yet another dragon. I played this in my dragon tribal deck, and there weren’t many cards that couldn’t be find a pair.


More from Jeremy Lichtenberger:

This Week in Magic - Week 43

Pro Tour Ixalan is upon us, and it is happening after the meta has been cemented, which stands to have decks break out of the dark and surprise us all. There were a number of interesting spikes this week thanks to a new Modern deck taking over, and we discuss some awesome foil spikes. Without further ado, I give you, this week in Magic!

Repentant Blacksmith Meddling Mage Ancient Ziggurat

This Week in Magic - Week 42

We had a somewhat uneventful week, as Modern and Standard are still struggling to establish a solid meta, but unexpectedly we saw quite a few spikes in older cards. It's a brewers paradise out there, so at any moment a random card or group of cards can take over a format. Let's see what kind of movement we had, this week in Magic!

Ice Cauldron Marionette Master Corpse Harvester

This Week in Magic - Week 42

This week was plagued with old, obscure cards, but between the fog shined a few gems. We also had an interesting no bans announcement from Wizards that hinted something may be coming off of the ban list in Modern. Let’s plow through all the crazy cards that saw an uptick, this week in Magic!

Urborg Justice Anointed Procession Kindred Dominance

This Week in Magic - Week 41

We have the Nationals this weekend alongside SCG Charlotte, so prepare for some great Magic action! Standard is still trying to figure the meta out post Worlds, and Modern is still up for grabs. There was a little bit of everything spiking this week, from reserved list cards (shocking) to Ixalan cards. Let's check out our spikes, this week in Magic!

Quicksilver Fountain Erhnam Djinn Search for Azcanta

This Week in Magic - Week 40

World’s is upon us and I hope you’re all as excited as I am. SCG Dallas gave us a glimpse into what the new meta is going to look like and there weren’t too many surprises. On the heels of the first large tournament in new Standard, we had some movement in new and older cards. Let’s get into all the top market movement, this week in Magic!

Volrath\'s Shapeshifter Rishadan Footpad Hostage Taker

This Week in Magic - Week 39

Ixalan is here! While I am rejoicing that, I am also weeping as I say goodbye to Eldrazi in Standard. We have a brand new Standard upon us and from what I’ve seen, people are struggling to find new decks that perform well. As people try new things, cards will go up and down at the drop of a hat. Let’s take a look at what movement we saw this week, in Magic.

Hostage Taker Morphling Living Wish

This Week in Magic - Week 38

Who’s ready for dinosaurs and pirates? I know I am! I’ve built a super sweet U/B pirates list and I can’t wait to play it on MTGO and in paper. We’ve had some expected movement in the reserved list segment, but also a hype train for a big bad dino. Hopefully everyone has a fun and safe pre-release, so let’s all board the ship to Ixalan, this week in Magic!

Carnage Tyrant Well of Knowledge Knacksaw Clique

This Week in Magic - Week 37

What a week! Iconic Masters dropped at Hascon, and pictures were flooding in at the same time more spoilers for Ixalan were getting dropped. It was an insane Friday and while we got some great cards, the market didn’t really shift too much. Let’s breakdown all the madness, this week in Magic!

Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund Psionic Blast Preemptive Strike

This week in Magic - Week 36

I had a bit of madness at work last week and unfortunately wasn’t able to publish an article, which is unfortunate because FAR too many things happened in the Magic world. Ixalan spoilers are in full swing, dinosaurs are awesome, and Planeswalkers have finally been turned in legendary permanents. Let’s take a deep breath and dive into this week in Magic!

Empress Galina Opt Urza\'s Tower (Mountains)

This week in Magic - Week 34

If you thought there were a lot of reserved list buyouts last week, this week will make you sick. I’m going to try and avoid talking about most of the unplayable cards this week, other than one of my favorite Legends. This week will be a shorter article as I've been on the road and haven't had great access to a computer/internet. Let’s try to push through all these movements, this week in Magic!

Gwendlyn Di Corci Dragonlord Dromoka Voidmage Prodigy